Happiness is not a matter of intensity
but of balance, order, rhythm and harmony.
-- Thomas Merton

Tuesday, March 14, 2023

Just know I went out in beauty....

It was hard to leave paradise this morning.  We had to be out by 11 a.m.  We left about 10:55.  We had about an hour drive to our next AirBnB in Muir Beach and our check in time was 4 p.m.  Our first stop was to Fort Funston, which is where hang gliders launch and land.  I have stood on the cliff here a couple times and was mesmerized by the sight.  I guess that hang gliders don't take off when there is a high wind advisory.  We watched the birds hang glide instead.

Then we drove through Golden Gate Park.  My son, Brett, called while we were driving through the park and he suggested two great bakeries we should try.  Bakery recommendations from Brett should be heeded.  So we went to Jane the Bakery first.  We stood in awe of all the choices.  It took us quite a bit of time to settle on vegetable chili for our dinners the next two nights, a huge loaf of sourdough bread, a morning bun, a mushroom scallion scone, a ginger cookie, a white chocolate oatmeal cookie and a coffee twist.  (We ate the coffee twist in the parking lot.  It was even better than imagined.)

We were pretty close to Brett's other bakery recommendation, Arsicault Bakery.  He said that they bake fresh all day and the taste of croissant fresh out of the oven is worth the stop.  We finally scored a parking spot and went in.  It is quite small and most things were already sold out.  We got a delicious, flaky cranberry coconut scone and downed it on the way back to the car.  

We drove over the Golden Gate Bridge and stopped to look back on the bridge....

...and the city.

Then we drove down to Sausalito.  I had told my son, Matt, and his fiancee, Melissa, that we planned to eat in Sausalito.  They suggested a place called Fish.  We headed there and ordered a plate of fish and chips to share and sat outside next to the marina.  It was a bit chilly but we were so delighted to see some blue sky and be outside without wind.

We poked around in some shops in Sausalito before we headed towards Muir Beach.  Just as we were leaving Sausalito Gayle got a text from the owner of our AirBnB rental for tonight.  He said there was a flooded area as we got off Highway 1 and headed up to the home.  He said that high tide was at 2 p.m. and hopefully it would be okay by the time we arrived.  We winded around a most amazing road past Muir Woods and down toward Muir Beach.  When we turned off the highway, the road up to our rental was definitely flooded.  We sat on the side of the road with great hesitation.  Two small cars passed us and headed on without any trouble, so we soldiered on.  We drove up a very steep, extremely narrow road to find our place -- the only home on the coast side of the street.  We can't tell if the steel wires alongside the carport are there to hold up the carport or to hold the roof on.  

We did a quick survey of the home.  It has an incredible deck looking down on Muir Beach.

We can sit in the living room and stare down at the waves.

It has one bedroom and the sound of crashing waves fills the room.

The steps down to the hot tub look treacherous but if we venture down there the view will be amazing.

We checked out the weather to see if by any chance the atmospheric river would pass us to the north.  It appears we will be dealing with rain, high winds and flooding.  We decided that if we wanted to experience the beach here we might want to go immediately.  We drove down to the beach parking lot.  It is still a bit of a hike from there.  Part way there, Gayle decided that it would be better for her back if she didn't attempt it.  She sat down on an available bench and waited while I headed down to the beach.  

It was cold and windy.  It was a perfect location for beach combing.  I picked up some shells and stones.  I figured out where our house was on the hill above me.  

We have arrived in this location just before another atmospheric river heads our way.  We are promised high winds, and possible flooding, blocked roads due to downed trees and power outages. I texted my children photos of my beautiful location.  I told them that if this house slides off the hill and into the ocean to know that I went out in beauty.

We at Jane the Bakery veggie chili and sourdough for dinner and watched comedians on our devices.  We made sure we completely charged all our Apple products, just in case we lost power in the night.


No comments:

Post a Comment